When Blood Turns Against The Body: Don wants Nigeria to act against bleeding, clotting disorders
From patients who cannot stop bleeding to people who die suddenly from undetected blood clots, Professor Theresa Nwagha says Nigeria must treat disorders of blood clotting as a public-health priority rather than waiting for them to become emergencies. Blood has a deceptively simple job: it must keep moving through the body to sustain life, but […] The post When Blood Turns Against The Body: Don…
Nigeria's healthcare system must prioritize the treatment of disorders related to blood clotting, according to Professor Theresa Nwagha. In her 252nd inaugural lecture at the University of Nigeria, Nwagha, a Professor of Haematology and Coagulation Medicine, urged the government to take proactive steps in the prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of bleeding and clotting disorders.
She emphasized that these conditions, which affect people of all backgrounds, can have life-threatening consequences and strain the healthcare system when left unaddressed.
Drawing from her clinical and research experiences, Nwagha discussed a range of conditions tied to blood clotting, including haemophilia, von Willebrand disease, and cancer-related hypercoagulable states. She recalled witnessing a pregnant woman die from disseminated intravascular coagulation (DIC) during her early medical training, which shaped her career in haemostasis and thrombosis.
One of Nwagha's key concerns was the affordability of treatment for patients with bleeding and clotting disorders. She highlighted the high costs of necessary medicines and treatments, questioning whether ordinary Nigerians could afford them. She argued that reliance on individual patients and families for treatment creates a system where survival depends on the ability to pay.
In the case of haemophilia care, Nigeria is "100 per cent dependent on treatment products," leaving patients vulnerable to disruptions in supply due to reliance on donated products.
Nwagha called for government intervention beyond mere announcements about bleeding disorders. She advocated for the procurement of treatment products, the development and implementation of healthcare guidelines, integration of bleeding-disorder care into primary healthcare, and measures to make treatment more affordable. She stressed the importance of early identification of patients with bleeding and clotting disorders to prevent life-threatening complications.
While uncontrolled bleeding poses a significant danger, Nwagha also emphasized the risks associated with blood clotting when it should not. She discussed venous thromboembolism (VTE), an important cause of sudden death that affects both visibly ill and apparently healthy individuals. With an estimated 10 million cases of blood clots occurring globally each year, resulting in approximately two million deaths, Nwagha warned that VTE can remain undetected until it produces serious or fatal complications.
Written by urgent.news from Ripples Nigeria's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
